MY Generation Rx. Minute Activities TEEN EDUCATION. Minute Activities.

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1 MY Generation Rx Brought to you by: Minute Activities Minute Activities are short, hands-on activities designed to teach teens how to safely use prescription medications in an effort to prevent their misuse. Minute Activities exist in two forms: 1. Group Activities: these activities work best in settings containing a maximum of five groups, with each group having 4-5 participants. Suggested uses include: Conduct one activity to serve as an icebreaker before an educational program starts. Conduct 2-3 activities together to serve as a stand-alone activity. 2. Individual Activities: these activities are designed for teens to complete as individuals. If you are interested in hosting an informational booth, conducting one or more of these activities would be a great way to engage teens. In this document, you ll find the necessary materials, instructions, and talking points needed to successfully conduct each activity. In addition, we encourage you and the teens you support to stay connected by following (Twitter) and MyGenerationRx on Instagram. 1

2 Group Minute Activities If you are conducting 2-3 of these activities to serve as a stand-alone activity, consider keeping score and creating a game out of it. Groups can create a team name, and the team that earns the most points after all activities is declared the winner. Activity 1: Spelling Bee Time: 10 minutes Spelling Bee letters (p. 3-4; 1 set/group) Plastic baggies (1/group) Setup: Print the letters on p. 3-4 (1 copy/group). Cut the paper to create individual letters and place them in a plastic baggie. Repeat this process so that each group will have one set of letters. Instructions: 1. Distribute one bag of letters to each group. 2. Below is a list of statements. Read each statement, and then ask the teams to determine the missing word and spell it correctly with their bag of letters. 3. The first team to identify the word and spell it correctly earns two points. 4. The correct word is identified in parentheses, with some additional talking points italicized. Statements: 1. is a substance used to treat disease or injury. (Medicine) 2. Always follow the on how to take medication. (Instructions) Instructions are intended to keep patients safe and reduce the probability of negative side effects. In addition to taking medication as instructed by a healthcare professional, it is important to store medication safely. Ask participants to suggest secure places, such as medicine cabinets or other lockable spaces. 3. Never your medication with others or take somebody else s medication. (Share) Our genetics, existing medical conditions, current medications we may be taking, even our age and weight, can all determine how we respond to medication. How your friend s body handles a medication is not telling of how your body will handle the same medication. 4. Only take medication for the prescribed. (Reason) Taking prescription medication for non-medical reasons (stress, physical injury, studying, etc) is dangerous encourage participants to engage in positive alternatives. 5. Always examine the on the prescription bottle to identify the instructions and who can legally take the medication. (Label) Consider sharing an image of a prescription label and discussing the information found on it. 2

3 Letters for Spelling Bee : M E E D I I I C N N S S T T R R 3

4 Letters for Spelling Bee : O O A A L L B H Y P Q X Z U U F 4

5 Activity 2: Beat the Buzzer Time: 5 minutes Buzzers or Bells (1/group; or just ask participants to raise their hand) Instructions: 1. Distribute one buzzer to each team. Ask one person from each team to stand behind their team s buzzer. 2. Below are a series of True/False statements. Read a statement. The first person to hit their buzzer can suggest if the statement is true or false. Correct answers earn one point for their team. 3. Encourage individuals to rotate so that everyone has an opportunity to participate. 4. The correct answer is identified in parentheses, with some additional talking points italicized. Statements: 1. The majority of teens use medications safely. (True) Only 1 in 7 teens (15%) have misused a prescription medication in the past year, and even fewer do so regularly (Monitoring the Future Study, 2014; The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2014). 2. You can t become dependent on or addicted to prescription medications. (False) There is a potential to become physically dependent on or addicted to some prescription medications, including prescription opioid pain relievers (painkillers), sedatives, and stimulants. 3. The United States is one of two countries that permit pharmaceutical companies to directly advertise their products on television. (True) New Zealand is the other country. This direct-to-consumer marketing is one factor that fuels the problem of prescription drug misuse. 4. Misusing prescription drugs can lead to misusing other illegal substances. (True) For example, because both prescription painkillers and heroin are opioids, both act similarly in the brain. As a result, individuals that misuse prescription painkillers often transition to using heroin. 5. In the United States, more people die from motor vehicle crashes than unintentional drug overdoses. (False) Since 2006, unintentional drug overdoses remain the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. 5

6 Activity 3: List It! Time: 10 minutes Paper and Pens (1/group) Instructions: 1. Distribute a sheet of paper and pen to each team. Ask one person to serve as the team s recorder. 2. Below are a series of categories. After you read the category, ask each team to record as many answers related to that category on their sheet of paper. 3. Teams will have 45 seconds to record answers. Each correct answer earns one point for their team. Categories: 1. Safe places to store medication. Any place listed that is secure, out of plain view, and not easily accessible. Locked boxes, high shelves in cabinets or closets, lockable medicine cabinets, etc. 2. Healthy ways to relax or to reduce stress instead of misusing prescription drugs. Exercise, deep breathing, count to ten, yoga, meditation, squeeze a stress ball, take a bath, listen to music, talk with a friend, etc. 3. Healthy ways to perform well in school instead of misusing prescription drugs. Get plenty of sleep, study in a group, meet with your teacher privately, work with a tutor, make flashcards, etc. 4. Techniques for turning down the invitation to misuse prescription drugs. Multiple correct answers exist below are just suggestions. Just say no Use humor or tell a joke Be repetitive (No, no, no ) Give a reason or excuse Suggest a positive alternative Leave the situation 6

7 Activity 4: Use or Misuse Time: 5 minutes Paper and Pens (2 sheets of paper and 1 pen/group) Instructions: 1. Distribute two sheets of paper and one pen to each team. Ask each team to write the word Use on one sheet of paper and the word Misuse on the second sheet of paper. 2. Below are a several scenarios. Read each scenario and ask teams to determine if the scenario represents appropriate use of the medication or misuse. 3. When ready, ask teams to hold the card that represents their answer. Correct answers earn their team two points. 4. The correct answer is identified in parentheses, with some additional talking points italicized. Scenarios: 1. Zach recently had a tooth pulled. He was experiencing a lot of pain, and decided to take the leftover pain medication prescribed to his sister after removal of her wisdom teeth. (Misuse) Taking a prescription medication not prescribed to you is misuse. Zach should report his pain to a trusted adult and a healthcare professional. 2. Laura injures her knee while playing soccer. The doctor prescribes her a prescription pain medication and instructs her to take one tablet every four hours. Laura follows instructions, but continues to experience pain. She alerts her mom about the situation and they schedule a visit with her doctor. (Use) Laura could have misused her prescription by taking more than instructed in an effort to reduce her pain. Instead, she discussed her concerns with a trusted adult. 3. John is worried about an upcoming test and decides to take a friend s prescription medication to help him study. (Misuse) Again, taking a prescription medication not prescribed for you is misuse. In addition, taking a prescription medication for a reason different than prescribed is misuse. 4. Donny is hanging out with friends when one of them offers him some prescription pills. He decides to take them to see what it would be like. (Misuse) Same as above scenario. 7

8 Individual Minute Activities Activity 1: Unknown Reactions Time: 5 minutes Baking Soda Powdered Sugar Cornstarch Vinegar Paper plates (1/participant) Spoons (3 spoons/station) Disposable cups (4 cups/station) Permanent marker (1/station) Setup: Mark three cups A, B, and C. Pour the powdered sugar into Cup A, the cornstarch into Cup B, and the baking soda into Cup C. Pour the vinegar into the fourth cup. Place a spoon into Cups A, B, and C. When you are ready to conduct the activity, spoon a small amount of each powder on a plate, keeping track of which powder is which. Instructions 1. Facilitator: Here are three substances (reference powders on plate). We will call them A, B, and C. 2. Facilitator: What are similar characteristics among the powders? Participant: They are all white powders. 3. Facilitator: Correct although they are all white powders, do you think they will react the same when this liquid is poured on each powder? Participant: Maybe, I m not sure. 4. Facilitator: Each powder is actually a different chemical consisting of unique properties. As a result, only one powder will react with this liquid. Can you guess which one? 5. Facilitator: Add a small amount of vinegar to each pile of powder, ending with powder C. What did you observe? Participant: Powder C fizzled and bubbled but the others did not. 6. Facilitator: Correct. While the powders may appear to be similar, their properties are not. Our bodies are similar. We are each unique and as a result, respond differently to substances, like medication. As a result, how our friend s body handles prescription medication could be very differently than how your body handles the same medication. Similar to this demonstration, if we take someone else s prescription medication or even don t follow instructions provided with our own medication, negative reactions and undesired consequences can result. Discussion Questions: What are some negative consequences that could happen if a person misuses prescription drugs? What can you do to ensure that you and those around you use medications safely? 8

9 Activity 2: Roll the Dice Time: 5 minutes Dice (one dice/station) Roll of the Dice cards (p.10; 1 set/station) Candy Setup: Print the cards on p.10. Cut along the lines to create six cards. When you are ready to conduct the activity, place all six cards on a table. Instructions: 1. Participants receive one turn to roll the dice. 2. Ask participants the question on the card that correlates with the number rolled. If the participant answers the question correctly, they win a piece of candy. 3. Questions are also listed below, with answers italicized. additional talking points italicized. Roll of the Dice Questions: 1. What are three examples of prescription drug misuse? Taking more of a prescription medication that prescribed, taking someone else s prescription medication, taking a prescription medication for a reason different than prescribed. 2. Where are secure places to store medication? In a locked or secure place, such as a lockable medicine cabinet. 3. What are techniques for turning down the invitation to misuse prescription drugs? Give a reason or excuse, suggest a positive alternative, make-up a personal story, leave the situation, make a joke or use humor. 4. Identify two safe medication practices we could each follow to prevent prescription drug misuse. Only use prescription medications as directed by a healthcare professional. Never share or use someone else s prescription medication. Always store medications securely to prevent others from taking them, and properly dispose of medications no longer needed. Serve as a good role model and discuss the dangers of misusing prescription drugs with your family and friends. 5. True or False. The majority of teens have never misused prescription drugs. True. Over 75% of teens report only using medications as directed by a healthcare professional (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2014). 6. Identify three positive alternatives to misusing prescription drugs. Exercising, studying with friends, enjoying hobbies, talking with a trusted adult, etc. 9

10 1 2 What are three examples of prescription drug misuse? Where are secure places to store medication? 4 5 Identify two safe medication practices we could each follow to prevent prescription drug misuse. True or False. The majority of teens have never misused prescription drugs. 3 What are techniques for turning down the invitation to misuse prescription drugs? 6 Identify three positive alternatives to misusing prescription drugs. 10